This dish was inspired by a photo Wandering Eater took a few month back at a cooking demo by Paul Liebrandt. New Yorkers know him as a culinary wunderkind for his unique but precise style of cooking at Corton. The dish in question was a sous-vide egg with a white asparagus velouté and crispy parmesan. Quite a simple dish but one that struck a cord with me for the luxurious pairing of a custard-like sous-vide egg and a rich and smooth velouté with a crunchy component. I apparently haven’t forgot about it because that’s the first thing that came to mind when I came across some sunchokes at the market the other day.

Sunchokes are also called Jerusalem artichokes and although they don’t come from Jerusalem and are not really artichokes, they do have a similar flavor. They are actually the root of sunflowers, know in Italy as girasole which somehow was corrupted to Jerusalem. Say girasole quickly 10 times and you’ll understand why.

I’m quite happy about how this dish came out. Jerusalem artichokes are nutty and almost sweet and are easily turned into the silkiest soups, but when a velouté is poured over the sous-vide egg it adds up a whole new dimension of luxury. The garnishes of crispy proscuitto, fried sunchokes and crushed toasted hazelnuts bring complementary tastes and textures, and the hint of vanilla bean in the soup brings out just enough mystery to keep your guests guessing. Enjoy!

Sous-Vide Egg w/ Sunchoke Velouté, Crispy Proscuitto & Hazelnut

Serves 6

For the sunchoke velouté:

4 tablespoons butter

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1 medium leek, white part only, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic

Salt and freshly ground white pepper

Bouquet garni (sage, thyme, bay leaf wrapped in leek green)

2 pounds Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and cut into slices

1 quart chicken stock

1 quart milk

1/2 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped

1/2 cup cup heavy cream (optional)

For the sous-vide eggs:

6 organic eggs, if possible farm fresh, at room temperature

For the garnish:

6 thin slices proscuitto

olive oil

strips (use mandoline) of fried sunchokes

12 hazelnuts, toasted and crushed

baby watercress

amaranth shoots

Thai basil oil

For the sunchoke velouté:

Melt the butter in a large casserole over medium heat. Add the sliced onion, leeks and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Toss in the bouquet garni and cook, stirring from time to time for 5 minutes. Add the Jerusalem artichokes and cook for 10 minutes more, stirring occasionally.

Pour in the stock, milk, vanilla bean and seeds and 1-1/2 teaspoons salt, and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer. Lower the heat so that the soup simmers and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes, skimming the foam from the surface as needed. Discard the bouquet garni and vanilla bean.

Using a blender, and working in batches, puree the soup until it is very smooth. Add heavy cream, if using. Strain the soup through a fine mesh sieve into a large saucepan and taste for salt and pepper, adding seasoning as needed.

For the sous-vide eggs:

Preheat water bath to 62.8′C (145′F)

Place the whole eggs in the water bath and cook for 47 minutes.

Garnish and finishing:

Preheat oven to 300′F. Brush the proscuitto slices with olive oil and place on a baking tray lined with a silpat or parchment paper. Bake until crisp, about 10 minutes. Cool.

Slice thin strip of sunchoke on a mandoline and fry until crispy. Add salt.

Toast hazelnuts to golden brown and crush.

Place the sous-vide eggs (by carefully breaking one end of the egg) into small bowls.

Spectacular color in those pictures. The food styling and presentation is also superb – you’ve created something almost abstract yet totally representational. Exceptionally good photos – art, really. And the recipe isn’t bad either! I’m not sure I’ve ever eaten a Jerusalem artichoke; in fact they’re not as common in grocery stores as they used to be. This sure looks like a great way to try them! Anyway, nice post. (And it’s nice to see a post from you again!)

http://www.ouichefnetwork.com Oui, Chef

Silken perfection and a riot of colors, it’s nice to see the master back at his craft!

Asha

Simply put, I like yours waaaay better than the inspiration!!!

zenchef

Ah, you’re too kind. Thanks, Asha.

zenchef

I’m trying! I just haven’t been very inspired for blogging lately.

zenchef

Jerusalem artichokes is delicious but somehow people don’t know what to do with it. It deserves to go more “mainstream” I think.

http://www.facebook.com/chrisjchang Chris Chang

This looks amazing! I haven’t visited your blog in over a month!! I miss it! The veloute sounds lovely, I’ll definitely keep that in mind!

zenchef

WHERE have you BEEN!!??

http://www.facebook.com/chrisjchang Chris Chang

haha, I’ve been trying to figure out my life And seeing if the culinary world is right for me.